Music: An Appreciation, Brief, 8th edition | Roger Kamien Part i: Elements

Music: vital part of human society Provides entertainment and emotional release; accompanies activities Heard everywhere in modern life Recorded music is a 20th-century innovation Internet access Portable audio Live performance: special excitement Experience affected by emotional state of both performer and audience Evaluating music performances Background music vs. active listening Perceptive listening enhances enjoyment Knowledge of musical elements enhances perception

SOUND: pitch, dynamics, tone color Our world is filled with sounds Sounds can be pleasant or unpleasant Humans are able to focus on specific sounds We can ignore sounds that do not interest us Sound Begins as a result of vibrating object Transmitted through a medium: air Causes our eardrums to vibrate Impulses sent to brain for processing MUSIC: organization of sounds in time Four main categories of musical sounds • pitch • dynamics • tone color • duration

pitch: highness or lowness of sound Determined by frequency of vibration Fast vibration = high pitch; slow vibration = low pitch Generally, smaller vibrating objects = higher pitches In music, definite pitch is a tone Tones have specific frequencies e.g., 440 cycles (vibrations) per second = A) Irregular vibrations create sounds of indefinite pitch Interval: distance between 2 tones Octave: doubling/halving of frequency Tones an octave apart seem to blend together Western music divides octave into 12 tones Nonwestern music may divide into different number Range: distance between voice or instrument’s highest & lowest possible tones

dynamics Relative loudness of a sound Related to amplitude of vibration producing sound Changes in dynamics may be sudden or gradual Accent: tone played louder than tones near it Italian terms used to indicate dynamics Extremes: ppp, pppp, fff, ffff Crescendo: gradually louder Decrescendo (diminuendo): gradually softer

tone color (timbre) Quality that identifies an instrument’s sound Can be bright, dark, mellow, etc. Changes in tone color create variety and contrast Tone colors add a sense of continuity Specific melodies with specific tone colors Unlimited variety of tone colors Composers frequently blend sounds of instruments to create new tone colors Modern electronic technique create new tone colors

listening outlines, vocal music guides, and properties of sound Helps focus attention on musical events as they occur Preceded by description of the music’s main features Listening Outline: points out notable musical sounds Vocal Music Guide: helps the listener follow the thought, story, or drama *Suggestion: While listening to one passage, look ahead to what is next

Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC Note: Tone colors through instrumentation Dynamic contrasts LISTENING The Firebird, scene 2 (1910) Igor Stravinsky

Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC Listen for: Tone colors Repeated note melody Improvised solos Muted brass instruments LISTENING C-Jam Blues (1942) Duke Ellington

PERFORMING MEDIA: voices and instruments Voices: unique ability to fuse words & musical tones Voice range is based on physical makeup & training Voice classifications Female Male soprano (highest) tenor mezzo-soprano baritone alto bass (lowest) Vocal music is frequently performed with instrumental accompaniment

Musical instruments: any mechanism (other than voice) that produces musical sounds Western instruments: 6 broad categories string percussion woodwind keyboard brass electronic Made in different sizes for range variety Tone color may vary with the register Provide entertainment; used for accompaniment Instruments’ popularity rises and falls with changing musical tastes

string instruments Sound produced by vibrating tight cable shorter the string and tighter the tension, higher the pitch (& vice versa) Orchestral bowed instruments • violin • viola • cello (violoncellon) • bass (double bass) Common playing techniques • pizzicato • vibrato • tremolo • double stop • harmonics • mute Some string instruments not played with bow Guitar & harp use plectrum (small wedge; pick)

woodwind instruments Traditionally, woodwinds were made of wood In the 20th century, metal & plastic became common The longer the tube, the lower the pitch Holes along instrument change the length of the tube Main orchestral woodwinds and ranges: Woodwinds: single note instrument Sounds produced by blowing (player’s breath) • “whistle mouthpiece” • single reed • double reed • saxophone: single reed instrument; common in jazz

brass instruments Orchestral brasses (in order of range) trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba cornet, baritone horn, & euphonium used mainly in concert and in marching bands Sound produced by blowing into mouthpiece Vibration of player’s lips produces sound Sound exits through flared end called bell Pitch changed in 2 ways: Pressure of player’s lips (together and against mouthpiece) Lengthening the instrument via slide or valves Trombone uses sliding tubes Others use valves connected to additional tubing Generally, the longer the tube, the lower the pitch Tone color is altered by inserting mute into bell Brass provides power and emphasis in music

percussion instruments Sound (generally) produced by striking, shaking, or rubbing the instrument Instruments of definite pitch produce tones Those of indefinite pitch produce noise-like sounds Membranes, pieces of wood or metal vibrate Percussionists must play many instruments Percussion traditionally emphasizes rhythm 20th-century music: greater use of percussion

electronic instruments Produce or amplify sound using electronics Invented ~1904, significant impact only after 1950 Modern technology blurs lines between instrument types, recording, computer, and hybrid devices Tape studio: main electronic tool of 1950s Synthesizers came into use in 1960s Huge machines first built in mid-1950s Analog synthesis dominated until ~1980 Digital (FM) synthesis came to forefront in 1980s Effects devices were integrated into digital synthesizers Sampling technology advanced in 1990s MIDI (1983) allowed connection of devices Small computers develop in 1970s & 80s Modern composers connect these devices, use software, and write new types of music

Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC Listen for: Themes, variations Contrast Repetition Various orchestral instruments LISTENING The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (1946) Benjamin Britten

RHYTHM BEAT METER ACCENT and SYNCOPATION Flow of music through time Particular arrangement of note lengths BEAT Recurrent pulsation Divides music into equal units of time METER Grouping of beats 2s and 3s; strong and weak beats ACCENT and SYNCOPATION Accent: note is emphasized Syncopation: emphasis placed on an unexpected note or beat

tempo The speed of the beat; the pace associated with emotional effect Tempo indicated at beginning of piece As with dynamics, Italian terms are used Molto, non troppo, accelerando, ritardando Metronome: indicates exact tempo

MUSIC NOTATION Notating pitch Written music stores information Allows composer to communicate their ideas to others Notating pitch Letter names: A B C D E F G Staff Grand Staff G Clef or Treble F Clef or Bass

notating pitch Keyboard note names with notation

notating rhythm Notating Silence music notation indicates length of tone in relation to other tones in the piece How note looks indicates duration Notating Silence Rests indicate notated silence

notating meter The Score Time signature indicates the meter of a piece of music Appears at beginning of piece Appears again whenever meter changes Written as two numbers, one above other 3 top number: how many beats per measure 4 2 bottom number: what type note counts 1 beat Common and cut time; duple and triple meter The Score Includes music for every instrument Can include 20+ lines of music at once

MELODY A series of single notes that add up to a recognizable whole Begins, moves, ends Tension and release Stepwise vs. leap motion Climax Legato vs. staccato Made of phrases (parts) Sequence within melodies Cadence: complete vs. incomplete LISTENING Over the Rainbow (1938) Harold Arlen Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC

HARMONY Consonance and Dissonance The way chords are constructed and how they follow each other Chord: three or more tones sounded at once chord is simultaneous tones Melody is a series of individual tones Progression: how chords follow each other Consonance and Dissonance Stable, restful chords (consonant) Unstable, tense chords (dissonant) degree of dissonance—more and less dissonant Resolution: movement away from a dissonance, towards consonance

the triad Broken Chords (Arpeggios) Simplest, most basic chord Made up of three notes Notated on 3 adjacent lines or spaces Tonic: triad built on 1st scale note Most stable, restful chord Pieces usually begin and end on this chord Dominant: triad built on 5th scale note Most unstable, tense chord Dominant to tonic movement feels conclusive Broken Chords (Arpeggios) Chord tones sounded in series

KEY The Major Scale The Minor Scale Centering of a melody or harmony around a central note The Major Scale Whole steps and half steps occurring in a predetermined order bright, happy sound The Minor Scale Whole steps and half steps occurring in a different predetermined order dark, sad sound

Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC Note: Harmony for variety and movement LISTENING Prelude in e minor for piano, Op. 28, No. 4 (1839) Frédéric Chopin

key signature The Chromatic Scale Pieces using major scales—major key Pieces using minor scales—minor key Number of sharps or flats played determines scale and key Also determines key signature Key signature notated at beginning of piece between clef sign and time signature The Chromatic Scale Utilizes all 12 notes within the octave Includes both black and white piano keys This scale does not define a key

modulation: change of key Provides contrast within longer piece Modulation like temporary shift in gravity new tone and key becomes “home” Tonic Key The main key of a piece Modulations away to different keys usually return to the tonic key Return to tonic creates feeling of resolution and conclusion return to tonic usually occurs near end of piece

MUSICAL TEXTURE Monophonic Texture Polyphonic Texture Layering of sound, how layers relate Monophonic Texture Single, unaccompanied melody literally “one sound” Polyphonic Texture Two or more equally important melodies sounding simultaneously Homophonic Texture One melody with chordal accompaniment Changes of Texture Within a piece, creates variety and contrast

Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC Note: Contrasting textures LISTENING Farandole from L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2 (1879) Georges Bizet

MUSICAL FORM Techniques that create musical form Types of Musical Form Organization of musical elements in time Techniques that create musical form Repetition—restating musical ideas Contrast—avoiding monotony with new ideas Variation—reworking ideas to keep them new Types of Musical Form Ternary simple subdivided

Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC Note: Ternary form LISTENING Dance of the Reed Pipes from Nutcracker Suite (1892) Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

types of musical form Binary LISTENING A B A A B A B B A A B B Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC Bourée from Suite in e minor for lute (1710) Johann Sebastian Bach

MUSICAL STYLE Characteristic way of using melody, rhythm, tone, color, dynamics, harmony, texture, and form Western art music can be divided into: Middle Ages, 450-1450 Renaissance, 1450-1600 Baroque, 1600-1750 Classical, 1750-1820 Romantic, 1820-1900 20th Century to 1945 1945 to present Shaped by political, economic, social, and intellectual developments